Quick 'n Easy Games

Mystery Tag

Give a pool noodle to a few taggers.

When a student is tagged, he/she kneels down with hands over eyes.

Other free students can come up behind the kneeling student, put their hand on the tagged students' back, and say the name of the tagged student.  Silly voices are allowed.

The tagged student has one chance to guess the name of the student who called their name.  If they are correct they can stand up and continue playing.  If incorrect, they must wait for a different student to help them.

Threeze Tag

Create a playing area (not too big) and a jail.

Rules: There are three taggers who run around tagging different people and counting to three. Taggers must call out each tag loudly ("ONE!"... "TWO!"... "THREE!").  The first and second tag have no consequences.  The THIRD person they tag goes to jail.  

When the jail has a multiple of three students (3,6,9), they escape.

The One-Minute Challenge: Wall Ball 

This one's so simple that I hesitate to even call it a game!  But kids love it.

1) Every student gets a tennis ball and finds a spot four paces back from a flat wall.

2) Warm up throwing and catching using set parameters (listed below).

3) Whistle blows and the 60 second clocks begins.  Students count successful catches in their head.  

4) Discuss strategies. Repeat one or two more times (students are trying to beat their best score).

Parameters/variations (decide on rules that all students follow for all three rounds.  Consistency is key.)

• More/fewer paces from the wall (even right up close to the wall is fun)

• Dominant/non-dominant/alternating/two-hand catching

• Ground bounces: 0,1, or 2.

• Partner (alternating)

Cone-Grab warm-up

1) Put down a row of small cones, one cone for each two players.  Have students pair off and face each other at each cone, standing one step back from the cone.

2) Call out body parts (e.g. "shoulders", "hips", "toes".  Players quickly touch that body part with both hands.

3) When you call "Cone!", the first player to pick up the cone wins (tie= RPS).

4) Winner stays, loser performs X (e.g. runs to a line, 10 Jumping Jacks, etc.) and returns to a NEW cone for the next round.

Variation: cone-grab ladder.  Winner moves one cone up the ladder, loser moves one cone down.

The Soccer Circuit

This is a great soccer drill with a focus on ball control.  It also allows students to play at their own pace.

1) Set up a random array of 2-meter wide nets all over the playing area.  There should be half as many nets as there are players.

2) Give every student a ball.  Tell them to score as many goals as they can in 3 minutes.  Nets are 2-way (i.e. goals can be scored forwards or backwards through the net), but students may not score on the same net twice in a row (or move back and forth between only 2 nets).  Their final score is private (sharing it is optional).

3) Assign half the students as net-protectors (no using hands; only feet) and run the drill again.  

Once a net-protector touches a ball, that player must go to a different net.  Net-protectors are discouraged from "booting" the ball super far. I like to remind the net-protectors that it is impossible to stop every goal, and not to feel overwhelmed when 3 players are all trying to score on you... And from both directions!  "Just do your best."

4) Switch net-protector/player positions.

Variation: 2-player teams.

Chain Breaker

This game works well for a soccer "pass-and-trap" drill, an ultimate frisbee "crocodile catch" drill, or for underhand throws.  After a few rounds I might start a ladder where the winning team moves up and the losing team moves down.

1) Have two teams (of 3-4 players) in lines facing each other, about 15 m apart.  Place 9-15 (odd number) hoops or polydots in a chain between them.  

2) Player 1 runs to the first hoop and stands in it. Player 2 passes an object (soccer ball, frisbee, ball, whatever) to Player 1.

3) If Player 1 receives the object without leaving the hoop, he/she brings that hoop back to the team, earning 1 point.  The object is then passed to Player 3 while Player 2 runs to the next hoop.  If the object is fumbled or dropped, the hoop remains in place.

4) Continue until the hoops are gone.  

Here's a link to a simple video description.

Stand Alone

Equipment: hoops or snow balls or cones or chairs or bags... any kind of marker on the ground.

1) Make a circle of hoops (or some kind of marker).  Hoops should be about 2 meters apart.  Lay down 1 hoop for every 2 players (20 players = 10 hoops. 21 players = 10 hoops).

2) Players put one foot in a hoop, 2 players per hoop.  If your group is an odd number, a player stands in the middle.

3) Everyone plays 1 round of "Rock Paper Scissors" with their hoop-opponent.

4) Winner stays in place, non-winner (aka loser) finds another available spot at another hoop.  Player in the middle can run to any open spot.

5) Play continuously, no stopping.  First player to get 5 wins (or 10) wins the game.  Players keep track of wins with their fingers.

6) That was the warm-up.  Now: Same game but with the hoops spread waaaaay out (10-15m between hoops)

ROCK(star)-PAPER-SCISSORS (2 min/round)

(First review rules to "Rock Paper Scissors".) Then...

1) Players find another player to challenge (*Note: you may not decline a challenge, nor can you wait by the side to avoid playing)

2) The loser of the (1-game) match becomes a cheerleader for the winner ("Go Jonny, Go Jonny, Go Jonny...").  The Winner finds another challenger.

3) Continue

The losing player AND HER CHEERLEADERS always become the new winner's cheerleaders.

At the end there should be a final match between the 2 remaining players along with their giant gang of rowdy cheerleaders.  Lots of fun.

Video link if you need it.

STALE AND FRESH

Set up a rectangle boundary a little smaller than the size of the school gym.  

2 equal teams, 1 team on each end behind their line.

Discuss the meaning of "Stale" and "Fresh" using muffins as an example.

RULES:

1) When you are behind your line you are Fresh.

2) When you leave your line you become Stale.  The longer you are out the more stale you get!  Return back to your line to get Fresh again.

3) You may tag someone on the opposing team IF YOU ARE FRESHER THAN THEM.

4) If you are tagged by a Fresher opponent, you join their team (NOTE: you are not trying to "get back" to your original team at this point.  Rather, you are now playing for the new team).

Sounds easy, but there are some very interesting strategies that get used.  The primary one is to "lure" another player towards your line (the classic "Nanana booboo" will suffice) and then have a fresh teammate come out to attack.

Enjoy!

This week's game is SUPER SIMPLE!!!!  Note: it does involve some contact, so sanitize before and after.

Steal the Bacon (video here)

1) 2 lines at either end of play space.  Put an object (e.g. a rubber chicken) in the centre

2) number players off with the SAME NUMBERS ON BOTH SIDES (so each player has an opponent on the other side with the same number.  Try to subtly pit equal speeds against each other).

3) review numbers so they remember.

4) call out a number:

If the player returns the chicken to their line, teams gets a point,  If they are tagged WHILE HOLDING THE CHICKEN the round is over (no points scored).

EASY!

Ok here's something different: A "Dude-Perfect" Junior Challenge.  Totally optional!!!

"Dude-Perfect" might be a bit "bro" for your liking (frat house), but these guys really have a niche for fun trick shots.  

The Challenge

1) Show your class these two videos before the challenge (I watched them all the way through.  The language is fine)

IMPORTANT: remind your class that for every successful shot these guys probably failed 50 times!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJwoSfTOhyM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nRZhGP5apQ&feature=emb_logo

2) Put kids in small teams and give each group an ipad or phone to record.  Working outside is best.

3) Have the team design a challenge.

4) Film every attempt until they get it.  Delete the failures.

5) Have your class vote and send the best ones to me.  I'll give some recess equipment to the class with the best trick.

Deadline for Submissions Friday Nov 6.

PS It does not have to be ping pong balls, but I have lots of them if you need them.  Other possible materials: water bottle, scrunched up paper ball, tennis ball, pen, eraser, hat... anything!!

I hope some of you are enjoying these games.  I'm choosing games that are low-equipment and easy to run.  

TURTLE POND AKA Snapping Turtle

This is one of my favourites because it is a great team-builder, great post-game discussion, and super easy to lead.

1) Draw a 6x6 grid on the ground with chalk (or borrow mine, which is on a tarp- see image below).  Squares should be about 2'x2 each'. One side of the grid is the start and one side is the finish.

2) Create a secret path that only you know.  (See image: my finger is pointing to the start of the route that only I know.  The x's are safe squares, all other squares have snappers under them.  See how my secret route goes backwards at one point to mess them up.  Dead ends are also allowed but make it very tricky).

3) GIve instructions and take questions

4) Start the clock (10-12min?) and DON'T HELP.  This is not your challenge, it is theirs.

Rules:

1) Everyone must cross the pond from starting side to finish side, taking turns.

2) Once you are across you MAY NOT HELP.  If you are waiting in line YOU MAY HELP (in fact that's the whole point of the game).

3) If a student steps on a square that has a snapping turtle under it, the leader says "SNAP" and that student goes to the back of the line.

4) the turtles do not move around during the game

5) you may not touch a line.  you may only move forward, backwards, left or right (like a rook in chess).  You may not skip over squares. Violations of these rules = SNAP.

Questions to ask after:

Did you ask for help?

Did a person with a good memory sacrifice themself to stay in the line to help others?

Did the person who finished first win (no).

How did it feel to finish last?

What type of communication worked/not work (hopefully they say "when 1 person is speaking at a time it was better")

Did you feel respected?  Heard?

This game, "Squirt", qualifies more as a camp game than a PE game, but it's a lot of fun and very socially-distanced (if you keep the circle big).  Enjoy.

Have participants stand in a circle around a player chosen to be the Squirtmaster. The Squirtmaster clasps his hands with his two pointer fingers pressed together and points at random players in the circle, saying "Squirt". The player he is pointing at must duck down, and the two players on either side point at each-other with hands clasped and yell "Squirt!". The first one to do this wins and stays standing. The person who didn't say squirt or who said it too late is eliminated and sits down where they were standing. The player who ducked stands back up. The player who ducks may also be eliminated if they don't duck before one of the players to the side shouts "Squirt!"

The game becomes more tricky as the spaces between the players widen. The game continues until there are two players remaining. These two players then have a Squirt-off. They stand back-to-back and start walking away from each other as the counsellor tells a story and when the counsellor says "Squirt!" (as part of the story) they must turn around, point at each-other and yell "Squirt!". The first to do so is the winner, and gets to be the Squirtmaster in the next round.